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This is Ignite, a narrative podcast series from European Athletics telling the personal stories of athletes as they count down to the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships. Throughout this series we will hear the first-person narratives from the likes of Keely Hodgkinson, Femke Bol, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Zharnel Hughes, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and many more. If you want to see these stars in action in Rome this summer, visit: https://roma2024.vivaticket.it/ Ignite is a HWY61 production ...
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This is Dina Asher-Smith’s story. In her words. When the continent's elite athletes arrived at the European Championships in Berlin in 2018, they would have been hoping for personal success that would catapult their careers to new heights. But what we saw instead was something on a whole other level as Berlin became a Championships for the ages. Th…
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It's been six years since Armand Duplantis - Mondo to his family, friends and adoring fans - burst onto the scene to take pole vault gold at the European Championships in Berlin. He was just 18 and the world of athletics was blown away by this unassuming teenager who not only took the field by storm that unforgettable night, but has since gone onto…
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She arrived at Munich 2022 as a dominant force rising through the European ranks, but still in search of a first major crown on the continent. Not every fan of athletics would've known her, yet come the end of the European championships, Yaroslava Mahuchikh made sure she was a known personality on the circuit as she claimed high jump gold. Fast for…
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Norwegian track sensation Jakob Ingebrigtsen has a love affair with the European Championships. It was six years ago in Berlin when he annoucned himself to the world when, aged just 17, he shocked the field to take 1500m and 5000m gold. Since then he's added Olympic gold to his record and defended his European titles in Munich in 2022. But it hasn'…
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He's one of the stars of Great Britain's sprint team, but Zharnel Hughes knows the challenges that face any elite athlete. From the pain of Amsterdam 2016 when injury impacted his competitive spirit, to bouncing back to be crowned Euroepan champion for the 100 metres in Berlin 2018, Hughes is a man full of character and endeavour. His success has b…
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For every elite athlete, there's one rival they must all overcome: their own self-doubt. And Dutch 400-metre sensastion Femke Bol is no different, despite her dominance on the track. Bol has broken world records and stunned those competing against her, but to do it all she needed to defeat those inner thoughts that made her question if she had the …
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When Keely Hodgkinson steps onto the track inside Rome’s Olympic Stadium this summer, she’ll be carrying the weight and expectation of a nation on her shoulders. The reigning 800 metre European champion is fully aware that she enters the arena with all eyes on her, but remains unfazed by what lies ahead. But how did she get here? What are the chall…
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Known as a master tactician of middle distance running, Jake Wightman is a man who comes steeped in athletics tradition and culture. He's watched the Olympics from afar, even been a fan in the stadium... and now he's in Tokyo to finally get his shot at Olympic gold. This is his story, told in his words.…
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From the small Caribbean island of Curacao to the Olympic Games, Liemarvin Bonevacia's story is one that shows every underdog can have their day. Liemarvin was a late adopter of track and field, training on the single athletics in Curacao before earning a scholarship to move overseas and start building his career. The Olympics was Liemarvin's dream…
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Belgium's Nafi Thiam was just 21 years old when she took Olympic gold in the heptathlon in 2016. She's since gone on to become world and European champion, dominating her sport. To the concern of her rivals, Thiam says she's only now entering her peak. So can she go all the way at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games? Can she becoem the first hepta…
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From his first race around his local town hall in jeans and an over-sized t-shirt, Karsten Warholm has come a long way to breaking the 400m hurdles world record. From the tracks of Norway to the Land of the Rising Sun in Tokyo, Japan for the 2020 Olympic Games, can he make another mark on history? This is his story, told in his words.…
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How do you shut out the voices of 60,000 athletics fans when you are chasing a gold medal? Malaika Mihambo has the answer... she meditates! It's the process that has helped deliver the talented German a European and world crown in long jump. And now she's chasing Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. With the whole world watching, can she succeed on the bigg…
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At just 17 Jakob Ingebrigtsen was a European champion, taking gold at the Berlin 2018 European Championships. The Norwegian sensation has gone on to be a leading figure in middle distance running ever since and now, along with brothers Filip and Henrik, is chasing glory at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. How did this youngster discover his talent at a …
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No woman in the history of the Olympic Games has ever completed a gold treble in the discus throw. Evelyn Jahl first came closest in 1976 and 1980, but her back to back victories went unmatched for 36 years... until Sandra Perkovic won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, adding to her gold from London 2012. Now the woman they call the "Discus Queen" is read…
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How does a 19-year-old take over his sport in one evening of pole vaulting in Berlin? For Sweden's Mondo Duplantis, it was a 14-year journey that made him into an overnight success as he took gold at the 2018 European Championships. He hasn't looked back since, smashing world records and dominating the pole vault. Now the Swede from Lafayette, Loui…
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The Olympic Games are where dreams come true... legends are born... history made. Sports journalist Peter Sanderson has spent years tracking Europe's brightest track and field athletes up close and personal as they matured to reach Tokyo 2020. Now the delayed Olympics are upon us, we finally get to hear their personal stories on the road to glory, …
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